FAQ

How do I contact EGC?

Phone: 205-529-6746 or email us through the form located on the contact page.

Please, no texting, but feel free to leave a message!

What people/bands have you made instruments for?

 

This is a list of artists currently using EGC guitars and basses. This list is by no means complete.

LKN

Gravity Keeps the Hours

Scott Usdrowski

Shellac

- Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer

Uzeda

- Agostino Tilotta 

Bellini

- Agostino Tilotta

Isis (band)

- Aaron Tuner, Mike Gallagher, Clifford Myers

Mustard Gas And Roses

- Mike Gallagher 

Melvins

- King Buzzo

- Dale Crover (AL drums)

Mastodon

- Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher

Katy Perry

Jackson Browne

Red Sparowes

Made Of Babies

Failure 

- Ken Andrews, Troy Van Leewen 

Foo Fighters 

- Pat Smear and Dave Grohl

Earnie Bailey

Cheap Trick

- Tom Petersson, Rick Nielsen 

Marc McElwee 

Jason Sinay 

Andy Logan 

Tegan and Sara

Sumac

Jack's Mannequin

Oxford Coma

The Devil Wears Prada - Mike Hranica 

Shiner

- Josh Newton 

Fugazi 

- Joe Lally 

Meshuggah

- Jens Kidman and Dick Lovegren

Neurosis 

- Scott Kelly

Weezer

- Scott Shriner

Kris Dirksen

Hans Zimmer

Jesus Lizard 

- Duane Denison

Sunn O))) 

-Stephen O malley

Marilyn Manson

- Fred Sablan and Jeordie White

Conan Neutron

Primus

-Lar

Nick Smethurst 

Chromeo 

Metallica

Band of Horses

Matt Gentling

Robbie Lee

Flip Scipio

Vincent Gallo

Matt Schulze 

Bong Ripper

-Ron Petzke 

Russian Circles

-Brian Cook

Waxeater 

Torche- Steve Brooks, Jonathan Nunez

Queens Of The Stone Age 

- Troy Van Leewen 

Converge 

- Kurt Ballou

Fallout Boy

- Joesph Trohman

Brian Izzi 

Ellie Goulding

Thee Oh Sees/Oh Sees

-John Dwyer

Do you have any samples of what your guitars sound like?

There are several examples to be found all over the internet, but we just found this demo (from a pleased customer) the other day and he shows a variety of what an aluminum bodied Series Two with EGC humbuckers can sound like. Enjoy this demo.

What can I expect from an instrument with an aluminum neck and fretboard that is different from one with a wooden neck and/or fretboard?

A lot. The amount of signal that is transferred that is generally lost on a wooden guitar, comes through in an exponential way. Metal necks are very touch responsive and react way more than a wooden neck to the way in which it's played. It gives you a bigger palate from which to pull, but just like with paint, no matter how many colors you have, you must be able to control the brush. The necks are machined with a .005 relief, there is no truss rod and the necks love heavy strings. The more tension, the better. We have found over the years, anyone who complains about fret buzz is generally playing too low with too small of strings. We hear that the wooden guitars they play have no issue with this. Well...this is not a wooden guitar. It's a completely different beast that has to be approached and played differently. On a wooden guitar, you would just crank the truss rod. On a metal neck, you must adapt to what you want to hear and it will do anything you want better than anything else, but the control is in your hands (quite literally). As our dear friend Agostino once said, "These guitars will make you sound great if you know what your doing or they will make you sound horrible if you do not."

 

What are your current guitar neck specs?

All dimensions are +/-.03 tolerance

All necks ordered with 24 frets will be solid, regardless of scale.

 

24.75" thin

(solid)

24.75" thick

(hollow)

25.1" thin

(solid)

25.1" thick

(hollow/"Denison")

Shape shallow D thick D shallow D full C
Wide at nut 1.75" 1.75" 1.75" 1.75"
wide at 22nd fret 2.125" 2.22" 2.125" 2.22"
thick at nut 0.59" 0.75" 0.59" 0.75"
thick at 20th fret 0.69" 0.85" 0.69" 0.85"
number of frets 22 22 22 22
Possible 24 frets yes yes yes yes

Do you make bolt on necks?

Yes! Listed below are the standard versions we generally have in stock(they come standard with Grover Rotomatic Tuners and Jescar stainless steel frets with full T6061-T6 construction). All guitar necks are 750.00usd + shipping and bass/baritone necks are 850.00usd + shipping, adding anodize or block inlays is extra.

24.00 inch scale short scale guitar neck with F style round neck heel
25.5 inch scale guitar neck with F style round and square neck heel
25.5 inch "60" guitar neck with square neck heel
27.78 baritone conversion neck with F style round and square neck heel
30.00 inch "6" bass neck with F style round heel
34.00 inch bass neck with F style round heel
34.00 inch "40" bass neck with square heel

Do you have any necks for sale that I can attach to an existing body?

Yes! We make many bolt ons, just email with what you are trying to do and we can make it happen.

Why are your instruments made out of aluminum?

Aluminum rings out in a unique way. It has a kind of natural chorus to it. For as many highs aluminum adds, it adds as many lows and mids. We do offer wood and acrylic as body material choices because we developed a way to isolate the instrument bodies from the necks, which gives all the aluminum sound without an all aluminum design.

Why do your instruments have aluminum fretboards?

Sound. You get a much better response from an all aluminum neck and fretboard.

Are the frets removable?

Yes. If you need a fret job, please make arrangements to ship it back to EGC and we will be able to do this for you.  If you do not care to send it back to us, please use a guitar shop that has experience working with metal fretboards.

Can I get a wooden fretboard?

Not from EGC, but see travisbeandesigns.com our sister company.

How does aluminum react to temperature changes?

Aluminum expands and contracts more than wood when exposed to different temperatures.  These changes are easily resolved by letting the instrument acclimate to the ambient room temperature. Thirty minutes or so usually accomplishes this acclimation.

Is there a greater risk of getting shocked when playing an aluminum-necked instrument?

No. There is no great risk of getting shocked because, just like on a wooden-necked guitar, all electronics are grounded to the strings and all other metal parts.  The risk of shock is the same for aluminum and wooden instruments.

What is anodizing?

Anodizing is an electroplating of aluminum oxide on the surface of the metal, which is then dyed. Anodizing is very durable and comes in a variety of colors. It is impossible to produce a shiny finish with anodizing because the process eats the surface during the process, so the finish can look a bit dull compared to our polished finishes.

What is chroming?

Chroming is a plating that goes over the aluminum.  Generally, aluminum has to be coated with copper, nickel and then chrome.  Aluminum does not like to be plated, so eventually electrolysis will take place and the chrome will peel.  Also, if you bump it had enough, the plating will bubble and peel.  When the plating peels, the flakes act like little razors – not a fun time.  It looks amazing while it lasts, but we’ve found our polished finish is much more durable over time.

What is powder coating?

Powder coating is a process of coating a piece of metal with plastic via an electromagnetic charge.  The plastic is then baked onto the metal. Powder coating is very durable and comes in a wide variety of colors.

What's the difference in tone for an acrylic versus an aluminum body?

They sound almost identical when amplified. The acrylic actually allows for a more instant muting of the strings where the aluminum body rings for a bit. For most folks, the ringing of the hollow aluminum body is what you want.

What's the difference in weight for wood-, acrylic- and aluminum-bodied instruments?

The acrylic is by far the heaviest, it's so incredibly dense that there is just no way around it. The weight of the wood and all aluminum bodies vary. Generally, the all aluminum bodies are the lightest, but this can be changed based on wood selected. If we use Poplar or Alder for the wood body, there is a good chance it will be quite light. The total weight* of acrylic-bodied guitar models generally weigh in at 11lbs (5kg), the wood-bodied guitar models fall in the 8-10lbs (3.7-4.5kg) range, and the aluminum-bodied guitar models generally weigh 8-9lbs (3.7-4.1kg).

*Total weight refers to the weight of of the entire instrument including the body, neck, hardware and electronics.

Do you use nitrocellulose lacquer on your painted bodies?

No. We do not use nitrocellulose lacquer because of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  We use auto polyurethane, which offers high UV resistance and expands and contracts better than nitrocellulose lacquer.

How do I clean my instrument?

Polished finish – Clean the polished parts of your instrument with Mothers Billet Polish and a lint free terry cloth. The aluminum we use is corrosive resistance, but it will tarnish is left dirty (i.e. sweaty).

Anodized finish – Clean the anodized parts of your instrument with Windex or denatured alcohol and a lint free terry cloth.

Powder Coated finish - Clean the powder coated parts of your instrument with denatured alcohol and a lint free terry cloth.

Acrylic – Clean the acrylic parts of your instrument with any plastic polish or water.  DO NOT use denatured alcohol or acetone as these will eat through the acrylic.

Chrome finish – Clean the chrome parts of your instrument with Windex or denatured alcohol and a lint free terry cloth.

Painted finish – Clean the painted parts of your instrument with Turtle Wax (because we use auto polyurethane).

What if I scratch my instrument?

Polished finish – You can buff it out and re-polish with Mothers Billet Polish.

Anodized finish - While anodized finishes are difficult to scratch, if you do scratch the finish, the only solution is to have your instrument re-anodized.

Powder Coated finish – While powder coating is difficult to scratch, if you do scratch the finish, the only solution is to have your instrument re-powder coated.

Acrylic – Acrylic can be re-polished if scratched.

Chrome finish – While chrome is very difficult to scratch, if you do scratch the finish, it is nearly impossible to buff out and will most likely need to be re-chromed.

Painted finish -

How do I order an instrument?

How long is the current wait time for an instrument?

Our wait times vary greatly based on our production schedule and the particular customizations that are requested fro each build. We currently have an estimated wait time for new orders of 12 months from the time of deposit payment until completion and shipment.

What if I change my mind after I order? Is my deposit refundable?

In order to keep our wait times accurate and in fairness to all customers, if you change your mind after you have submitted your deposit and approved your invoice, you will be re-invoiced and your wait time will restart at the time of re-invoicing.  You will also be charged a fee for re-invoicing and any cost incurred on items EGC has already acquired for your original purchase.  Your deposit is not refundable, but may be transferred to an updated order.

Is import duty included in the price of the instrument?

No. All taxes/duties are the responsibility of the purchaser.

Is there a warranty?

Do you offer endorsements?

No.

Do you offer discounts?

We do offer multi-instrument discounts if you order more than one instrument at a time.

What are the specs of the EGC Tyranny?

Body: hollow 1.25” thick T6061 aluminum with bright dip anodized finish 

Neck: 25.1” scale, 1.75” width at nut, 12” radius, dot inlays

Hardware: EGC aluminum string through bridge and EGC metal dome knobs with chrome or black anodized finish, Grover or Gotoh tuners, Jescar stainless steel frets and Schaller locking strap buttons

Pickups: EGC Humbucker or EGC RWRP single coils

Control Configuration: 2 volume knobs/2 tone knobs/ 3-way toggle (phase switch with single coils)

Electronics components: CTS pots, Switchcraft jacks, Panasonic switches, Thermax (Teflon military spec high heat oxygen free silver-plated wire) and Sprague caps

Price: $2000.00usd plus shipping (SKB case included)

Left-handed versions of the model will be offered. The Tyranny will not be offered for pre-order.